Brief 3: A short film This will be a short fictional film that is set in local area featuring one or more areas of interest in your area as a primary location. The genre of the film is thriller and the narrative is centred around a group of friends and intended to have a BBFC rating of 15.
Thriller films:
Roadside
The Birds
Fargo
The Black Hole
P1: Create pre-production materials for an original TV programme or short film
Working title and summary My show: 'Stuck' follows a group of friends who work together as interns in an office. These friends get trapped in a lift together, and begin to hear mysterious noises from the floor above. They begin to panic and try to call someone to get them, but no one is picking up their phones. Eventually the noises stop, and the lift starts back up again, the doors open and we see that everyone has disappeared. 'Stuck' ends on a cliffhanger, the audience never find out what was causing the noises or why everyone disappeared, because then they will still feel unsettled after the short film has finished.
After gaining some feedback on this idea, my peers said they liked the use of a confined setting, they also helped me finalise what the ending reveal shot will be. I decided to go with the idea of everyone disappearing because other ideas like everyone being dead would be very difficult to pull off with a student budget.
Target Audience My target audience is people aged 15-25, because the brief states that the short film must be a 15 rating and since the thriller genre is enjoyed more by thrill-seeking young people. If this was a big-budget production, I would show my short film in cinemas, or at a film festival as these are a good way to get your name out there. A lot of critics and directors visit film festivals, and so you might be head-hunted from what people think of your short film. However, since this film has a small budget, I would probably put the video on YouTube and promote it via social media. This would reach my target audience because 15-25 year olds are some of the biggest users of social media and content from YouTube can be easily shared with friends and family.
Research into genre Short thriller 1: Black Hole Genre conventions: The change of pace is a convention of the thriller genre because a slow pace helps to build tension leading up to an event, and a faster pace - with shots changing quickly - helps to show an action sequence. Here, lots of slow shots are used in the beginning of the film to build tension and anticipation, and at the end when the main character is pulling money out of the safe, the shots change very quickly. This shows the audience that his movements are more frantic, or perhaps that he spends a long time pulling money out of the safe so they couldn't show all of it in a longer shot. A fast pace is often used in chase scenes in a thriller, as camera angles must change quickly to capture all the action.
A familiar setting is another convention of the thriller genre, this makes the audience feel safe as they feel comfortable with the surroundings, and gives a greater sense of unease when the unexpected happens. The setting used in Black Hole is an office, and as many people have worked in an office building in their life, they can relate to the character. Relating to the main character makes the thriller have more impact as you can picture yourself in the scenario and therefore you are more immersed in the film.
Target audience: I think the target audience is young people (under 40) because the short film was primarily posted on YouTube, which is a social media platform used a lot by younger generations. Also, the main character seems to be about 30, which fits into the target age bracket and makes him more relatable. Since there is no dialogue, audiences from any country can understand and enjoy the short film (hence why it has over 20 million views). A lot of people can also relate to the desires the character has (chocolate, money), so it can be appreciated by lots of different people around the world.
Platform: The video was posted on YouTube as the primary method of distribution, this is so that people can easily share the video with their friends, as it is amusing, relatable and very short. The film is suitable to be posted on YouTube because it has no graphic content, swearing or inappropriate messages, so it can be universally enjoyed. It seems as if it is part of a series of short films made by amateur film makers and posted on the Future Shorts channel as a way of distributing the films to a wider audience.
Mise-en-scene and camera techniques: The majority of camera work is very basic, most shots are either still or panning and are not from artistic angles, they just show the subject face-on. This is done to make the setting seem dull and drab, it also lowers the budget considerably since this is an amateur production. The sequence of shots also makes the film lack drama or excitement in the beginning, like it is just an ordinary day at the office. A few establishing shots are also used at the beginning to give the audience context, e.g. the man is alone on that floor, it is almost the end of the day (the clock says 3pm).
The colour palette of the film is very grey, showing again how bored the main character is, and how mundane his life is, doing photocopying day-in day-out. The grey tone of the film is used to make the audience feel depressed, so that they are sub-consciously hoping for something interesting to happen, whether it's good or bad.
There are lots of mid-shots used throughout the short film, as these show us the character's facial expressions, surroundings and body language. As the film progresses, we can see the main character being confused, curious and greedy, and this is all conveyed without any dialogue, so being able to see his facial expressions is important.
At the end of the film, the camera shots and pacing change dramatically when the man is emptying the safe. The shots flip between a close-up and a long shot to mimic the panicked way that the man is glancing over his shoulder, showing the audience that he isn't meant to be doing this, and building tension. Changing shots quickly makes the audience start panicking, and trying to predict what is going to happen. The long shots make them feel like someone is going to walk in and catch the main character stealing, so when he gets trapped in the safe it is even more shocking and unexpected.
Sound: Black Hole uses no non-diegetic sound (no music, voice-over, etc.), this is very unusual for a thriller because music is one of the major ways tension can be built. The photocopier can be heard throughout the entire film, the beeping is very irritating and the repetitive sound mimics the repetitive nature of office work. After the man gets trapped in the safe, the photocopier continues to beep, this shows the audience that it will be a long time before he is discovered, because to someone passing by, it sounds like he's still doing his work and nothing out of the ordinary has happened.
Sound is used in the film to affect the pacing, when at the end we can hear his heavy breathing as he frantically pulls money out of the safe. His breathing gets louder and faster, which makes the audience feel more panicky as characters are often used to show the audience how to feel - in this case, anxious.
Editing: No transitions other than a hard cut have been used in this short film, and no visual effects are used. The only other shot transition used is a circular wipe out at the very beginning when the title is shown. This is meant to mimic the action of going into the black hole, and gives the audience a clue as to what might happen in the film. This type of transition is very unusual in the thriller genre, it is found more in children's comedy (e.g. Looney Tunes), so this throws the audience off and makes them wonder what genre the short film will be.
Short film 2: Roadside Genre conventions: The use of a deserted location is a convention of the thriller genre because there's no way out/no one around to help you. The woman appears to be alone in the middle of nowhere, with no way of getting back to civilisation, so this makes the audience think that the man will be doing her a big favour, or that she has no option but to leave with him.
Using a damsel in distress is another convention of the horror genre because this is a traditional stereotype of women being unable to look after themselves. In this story, it could've been a man stranded in the desert, but it plays to stereotypes by having a man rescue a woman from danger. This is done because it adds to the suspense as the woman is vulnerable and in perceived danger. If it was a man who was stranded, the audience would assume that he could get out of the desert by himself without any help.
Target audience: As there is considerable threat and danger of sexual violence, I think this short film would receive a BBFC rating of either 12A or 15. Therefore, it would be suitable for an older teen and adult audience, not mass like Black Hole. Although we do not see any graphic violence, the sustained threat makes this unsuitable for a young audience, and the way the man's body is thrown out of the car carelessly could be very upsetting to young viewers. There is also a lot of inference of manipulation, which younger audiences might not understand, e.g. when he says "it's cold out here", here he is trying to persuade her to get in the car, and his persistence is quite creepy.
Platform: The video was posted primarily on YouTube, and the channel seems to be dedicated to posting amateur short films, in order to gain filmmakers a bigger social media following. Even though YouTube has no system for age ratings like the BBFC, since there is no on-screen violence, there is no reason for it to be flagged. However, judging by the themes in this short film, I think if it was made into a full length film it would earn a 15 rating, and graphic/casual violence would be shown at other parts in the film.
Mise-en-scene and camera techniques: This film is very unusual in that it was all shot in one take. This is very impressive as they have included a mixture of establishing shots, closeups, over-the-shoulder shots and long shots without any cuts. All of these shots add to the tension of the film because the shots showing character's faces help to convey a lot of emotion to the audience, which tells them how to react. For example, the woman has a very difficult time reaching a decision, so this makes the audience feel like the man is untrustworthy/she has a bad feeling about him. When watching, audiences don't tend to notice that it is all in one take until they are told that it is, but I think we sub-consciously notice it, and this adds to the tension, as shots lasting a long time are used to show the audience that they should be paying attention to a visual clue.
Costume in this film gives us a lot of context/background story, for example the woman is wearing a hospital identification bracelet, and isn't dressed appropriately for the weather, making us think maybe she left a hospital in a hurry. This also makes the two characters unequal in power, because he seems to be in control of his situation, with a car, a jacket, etc. but she doesn't even have a bag. The man wearing warm clothes shows us that since they're in the desert, it must be getting dark soon (as a desert environment is hot in the day but cold at night), which will mean that the woman will be in even more danger. The overhanging threat of the sun setting makes the scene even more tense, and gives a feeling of urgency, because if the woman doesn't get back to civilisation soon, she will be alone by the side of the road at night.
Sound: The music (non-diegetic) begins only when the dialogue does, and creates a very dream-like feeling. This makes us question whether what we are watching is reality, or a dream. The music is mostly one long sustained note/chord, which makes the scene very tense, and the notes clash horribly at various points in the dialogue. For example, when the lady says not to call the police, the notes clash and the music gets louder, which would traditionally show us that action is about to take place, but because of the long chords, the music is not coming to a conclusive ending at that point, keeping us on the edge of our seats. The discordant notes are mimicked by the discord in the dialogue, when the characters disagree/become more aggressive, which creates a heightened sense of danger.
The diegetic sound used tells us a lot about the scene, e.g. at the beginning when the woman in breathing heavily, so she has obviously been walking for a long time and is in distress, but we don't know why, or how she got there. We also hear the truck quite loudly, but only when it comes into view, and the audience sees the car before the woman does. This creates a lot of suspense, because the audience knows something the character does not, and having her back to the truck makes her even more vulnerable. The car horn also is important, as it sounds a lot like a siren, and signals the end of the man's life. No one responds to the loud noise, again reminding the audience how isolated the characters are.
Setting and locations Most of the film will take place inside the lift as tension gradually builds, so I plan to film this in a lift at the Netherhall School. I have chosen this location because I want to use student actors within the school, and as I will film during the school day, this will be the most convenient place to film. It would be easy to ask for permission as I can email staff or ask them in person, and all the facilities we need like toilets, food and drink are already on location. I might have some issues with sound if other people are walking past, but I could try to find a lift in a quieter part of the school, and have enough storage space on the camera for multiple takes.
Equipment I won't need much equipment for this production since the setting is very simple. I will need a camera, tripod, microphones and possibly some portable lights. I plan to use two different types of external microphone to record sound, lapel mics and a handheld mic that could also be hidden somewhere out of sight. I plan to use both of these because in case one of them doesn't pick up a certain sound well, the other microphone might've captured it better. I will also have the built-in microphone in the camera to fall back on. I will need to do a location recce before I can decide whether or not I will need extra lighting, it might be that the lift I use is well lit enough already.
Job roles Since I will be acting as director, I will need four actors, camera operators, a sound recorder and a best boy. As this is a small production, some people may be able to take on two roles, for example the best boy (in charge of lighting) can also help set up the microphones. I won't need a foley artist as I will be using pre-recorded sound effects, and all pre and post-production tasks will be carried out by me. I want my actors to be sixth form age but the roles are not gender-specific, and they need to be comfortable working in a small space.
Budget For my production, I will be using student actors to make my film, so I won't need to pay to hire actors, costumes or makeup. I will be using school property to film on and school equipment, so I don't need to pay for either of these things. I'm not using any special effects or lighting/sound equipment that the school can't provide, so my budget for this short film is very low. However, if this was a professional production, I would need to pay for all of the above as they will not be provided for me, and equipment/actors must be of a very high standard. I would probably have to pay to use a location, especially if it has to be sectioned off from the public, or it means productivity goes down as workers cannot use a lift in their building. I would also have to pay for transport, food, drink, props, petty cash, etc.
A good way of earning this start-up money is through crowdfunding. This allows people who believe in my project/idea to donate money to help me get the things I need to begin making the short film. Supporters can also be given rewards for donating money, like exclusive behind the scenes content or merchandise. I could also apply to the BFI for funding, as if my film passes the British cultural test (filmed in Britain, using a British cast and crew, etc.), then I will be awarded money by the BFI to use to make my short film.
Legal and Ethical Issues The legal issues I need to consider are the Data Protection Act, risk assessment, copyright/Intellectual Property Act and permission forms. In terms of protection the data of cast and crew, I need to make sure that all information is kept secure, e.g. not leaving production schedules lying around where the public could see them, and password protecting important documents. I need to make sure my risk assessment considers all possible risks of the location, personnel and equipment, e.g. lighting equipment in a small area could get very hot and cause burns. I need to consider the Intellectual Property Act and the Copyright Act in all aspects of production so that I am not using other people's ideas/content without their permission, e.g. using music without permission from the composer. I need to get permission forms from the actors and from the owner of the location. I must ensure that I have permission for the actor's images to be shown to the public, especially since some of them might be under 18.
Ethical issues I need to consider are threat, representation and moral panic. In terms of threat, the brief states that my short film must be a BBFC 15 rating, and their guidelines state that "There may be strong threat and horror. A sustained focus on sadistic or sexual threat is unlikely to be acceptable." So I must make sure that the sense of threat is not too extreme, especially since my thriller will have no conclusive ending. In terms of representation, I must carefully consider how I represent gender, ethnicity, age, sexuality, etc. For example, having the only female character be a 'damsel in distress' character wouldn't be representing women fairly. Lastly, I need to make sure I don't create a moral panic with my short film, since the non-conclusive ending could be upsetting to some viewers, and some may worry that the same thing could happen to them as many people already get claustrophobic in lifts.
--
Below is a video of me presenting my ideas and research, at the end I gained some feedback.